An analysis of crime control policies in Knoxville's public housing

by (John William), 1971- Barbrey

Abstract (Summary)

Between the late 1980s and 2001, the Knoxville Community Development
Corporation and the Knoxville Police Department implemented policies intended to
reduce crime in Knoxville’s public housing. Beginning with pilot programs in two
housing sites in 1989, a cooperative relationship between KCDC and KPD emerged that
evolved into the KCDC Security Patrol in 1990.
By using Arcview software, I was able to separate the yearly violent crime
incidents for 1992-2001 that occurred in two separate geographical regions: 1) the area
represented by the KCDC housing sites where the policies were implemented, and 2) the
remainder of the City of Knoxville.
The descriptive statistics indicate that none of the six policies evaluated in this
study have an effect upon total crime and an effect upon the occurrence level of
aggravated assaults in the KCDC sites. However, the 1999 team-based approach to
policing and the new applicant screening process of 2000 seem to somewhat reduce
crimes of opportunity and/or property crimes (i.e., burglary, larceny, auto theft, and
robbery). A 1996 One-Strike eviction policy has the same effect, but separating it from
confounding events is not possible. The demolition of College Homes in 1998 has a
marginal effect upon aggravated assaults.
Because I could not conduct a survey of Knoxville’s public housing residents,
regression analyses in a cross-sectional design are used to gain further insight into other
possible variables effecting Knoxville’s crime rate. An individual census tract is the unit
of analysis. Socio-economic and demographic indicators of crime are used, as well as a
policy dummy variable and a variable representing the degree of public housing within
each tract. A methodological problem during data collection within KPD prevents the
use of data prior to 1996. The regressions reveal that crime in Knoxville (1996-2001) is
consistently associated with the proportion of males, and the proportion of those who are
over the age of 25 who do not possess a high school education.
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